Version 5 brings a lot of new features and tools to the animator's toolbox, besides physics and new animation methods. iClone's upgrades have always been dramatic for the sheer number of new features and this version delivers as well. There are several new tools and toys that can put a smile on the face of any iCloner.
In this chapter, we shall do the following:
Explore new visual enhancements, such as ambient occlusion and toon rendering
Discuss improved performance features, including Level of Detail (LOD) and height map terrain among other improvements
Explore the new post effects, such as blur, color adjust, and color filter
Learn about enhanced usability features, such as multi-duplicate along with other time and labor saving new additions
So let's get started…
Some of the self-evident upgrades and improvements have to do with the lighting and rendering, which are two extremely important parts of the iClone process. Reallusion has not only given us more control over lighting but they have also given some wonderful new tools that will improve the real-time look and final render of our videos.
Ambient Occlusion (AO) is a major leap forward in the improvement of real-time and final render of a scene.
From Wikipedia:
Ambient occlusion is a shading method used in 3D computer graphics which helps add realism to local reflection models by taking into account attenuation of light due to occlusion. Ambient occlusion attempts to approximate the way light radiates in real life, especially off what are normally considered non-reflective surfaces.
Ambient Occlusion (AO) makes a dramatic and instantly recognizable improvement to the look of the video but can, like all tools, be overused. The best way to describe AO is to look at the difference it makes in scene.
The following image demonstrates the difference in no AO (left image) to exaggerated AO (right image). Notice the depth of shadows on the edges of objects and how more defined the objects are, like the books and candle wax. Glare was also reduced. This exaggerated setting is far from optimal and for demonstration purposes only: